Many events strategies—including the all-important budget dedicated to hosting and attending events—traditionally comes down to the decision-making powers of the non-event executives in the C-suite. In most cases, these leaders are solely concerned with the potential return on investment, which justifies their standard slate of priorities, such as the total cost of an event, the average cost associated with attending an event and the number of leads generated.
While these data points are important, they teeter on being categorized as “vanity metrics”—and event professionals know there’s a slew of other criteria that stand to more accurately prove why events are great for driving business, reaching new audiences and increasing customer loyalty.
Take it from Lauren Ashcroft Burdette, the head of revenue operations at New York-based customer experience provider Ubiquity, who dished all her secrets on winning her sales team over.
Among the most important steps is getting salespeople to care about more than just plain ‘ol leads. Here are the most-often overlooked metrics by salespeople that Ashcroft Burdette told Vendelux she prioritizes when looking to prove ROI as an event organizer:
Attendee Engagement
Sure, you can’t have sales without leads, which is probably what salespeople are most concerned with, Ashcroft Burdette said, but
“the interest and involvement of attendees is really key for building long-term relationships and brand recognition, even if it doesn’t lead to immediate sales or a flood of leads.”
Ashcroft Burdette recalled: There was “one show where we sponsored an activation that was so popular, there was a constant crowd around our booth the entire time. Surprisingly, the number of leads we got wasn’t as high as you’d expect for such a big turnout. But the buzz we created and the memorable experience left a lasting impression—people were still talking about it at the same show the following year.”
“That kind of engagement builds brand loyalty that pays off in the long run,” Ashcroft Burdette added—even more so than conducting surveys. And remember, “just because someone didn’t convert immediately doesn’t mean the event wasn’t valuable.”
Ashcroft Burdette continued: “You might find that someone who visited the booth in 2023 is now ready to buy, and tracking that connection back to the original show is key. Monitoring those long-term outcomes gives a fuller picture of an event’s true impact.”
To further prove the importance of attendee engagement, consider looking at smaller, invite-only events first—either attending or hosting—because “the goal might be more about relationship-building or nurturing existing clients.” At a more intimate affair, it’s much easier to measure success “on things like engagement levels and the quality of the interactions” rather than at a large trade show, where focuses are certainly on lead generation, Ashcroft Burdette offered.
Ultimately, though, “you really have to tailor your metrics to match what you’re trying to achieve. If you use the same measurements across all events, you’re likely missing out on key insights that reflect the true value of each specific event,” according to Ashcroft Burdette.
Brand Visibility
Like with any sponsorship or brand presence at an event, recognition is an important metric to, well, recognize, because it’s “people seeing our brand again and again [that] builds trust and awareness.”
And speaking of being seen, “being a sponsor, having a booth or speaking at the event all help to increase brand recognition and awareness, which again builds trust and familiarity over time […] even if it doesn’t immediately translate to leads or tangible sales. It’s an investment that again pays off in the long run,” Ashcroft Burdette said.
Ashcroft Burdette’s No. 1 tip for getting sales teams to see the value in events-related investments:
“I’ve found that giving the [sales] team a voice in the decision-making process directly correlates to their buy-in. I let them choose which shows they’d prefer to attend from our list, and after each event, we debriefed to discuss the pros and cons of going again next year.”
“It’s crucial to value their experience in the field,” Ashcroft Burdette added of salespeople, noting that she allows her sales-focused colleagues “to pitch new shows” they want to attend and be inspired by. “When they’re genuinely excited about attending an event, they’re more likely to work harder to prove the ROI,” Ashcroft Burdette added—and do so using less traditional metrics.
Currently, for example, “I have a team member who wants to go to a show in Barcelona. She’s currently building her pitch to get the team’s buy-in,” Ashcroft Burdette said. “Whether we attend or not, her enthusiasm translates into a passion to make it work, and that energy often drives great results.”
Traditionally, these are the top metrics Ashcroft Burdette said her sales-focused colleagues are concerned about when they hear Ubiquity is attending an event:
- The number of qualified leads
- Cost per lead
- Conversion rate
- Revenue generated
For event professionals still working with a divide between events and sales team, consider Ubiquity’s approach: At the company,
“our events team, marketing, creative and sales—along with a few others—all sit under the Growth team,” Ashcroft Burdette explained. “This structure means we’re all aligned with the same goals, which really helps with cohesion.”
However, don’t allow decision making to get too carried away with excitement alone, Ashcroft Burdette warned, noting that she balances emotions with “data from an unbiased platform”—even giving a shoutout to Vendelux as a resource she uses to track the events where Ubiquity’s target demographic is.
